(Lincoln Park in 1905)

According to the Chicago Park District, Lincoln Park was a small public cemetery where victims of cholera and small pox were housed. The city of Chicago became aware of these graves and its threat to public health. So, the residents of the city of Chicago decided to demand that the cemetery be converted to parkland during the 1850s-1860s. After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the park was named in his honor. Now, Lincoln Park has actually become an entire neighborhood. The park part of it has a zoo, conservatory, theater on a lake, and a rowing canal. It also features famous monuments, among many other things.

Lincoln Park shows up in Nella Larsen’s Passing. It’s a park that Clare is seen going to with a rich white man. It comes up through rumors that are told about Clare. It’s important in the overall novel because it is a place that is truly important for the city of Chicago. It is filled with rich history, and is a place many people have frequented over time. Chicago is an important setting within the novel, so it’s only right that Lincoln Park appears in the novel and is associated with one of the most important characters in the story.

Works Cited

Detroit Publishing Co.,. “Conservatory & Gardens, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Ill.” Library of Congress, .

District, Chicago Park. “Lincoln Park.” Chicago Park District, www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/lincoln-park.

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